Y.'s sluggish start ends with a win over Air Force

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — A failed play at the end of the first half made all the difference for Brigham Young.

John Beck hit Todd Watkins on a 70-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the third quarter and threw three more touchdown passes in the half, helping BYU overcome a sluggish start and beat Air Force 41-24 on Saturday.

"What I thought was the turning point was the third-and-long just before the half," BYU coach Gary Crowton said. "We did not get it, but there was a play where we had Todd Watkins open. I saw that play and we kind of changed our plan a little bit based on how they were playing defense. To me, that was the play."

BYU (4-4, 3-1 Mountain West) struggled through most of the first half, managing a field goal on its first possession and not much else. After seeing Watkins blow through Air Force's defense at the end of the second quarter, Crowton tweaked his offense to include more plays deep and down the middle.

It worked.

BYU had three touchdowns and a 222-49 advantage in total yards in the third quarter, turning a seven-point deficit into a 24-10 lead. BYU kept it going in the fourth quarter, scoring 38 points in the half and finishing with 527 yards.

Dennis Pitta blocked a punt and caught two touchdown passes, Watkins had six catches for 153 yards, and Curtis Brown ran for 128 yards in the Cougars' third win in four games.

"I felt like we came out flat in the first half," Pitta said. "We came out sluggish, but we turned it around in the second half."

Air Force (3-4, 2-2) seemed out of sorts coming off its bye week.

The Falcons couldn't get much going with their option — 213 yards on 47 carries — didn't give quarterback Shaun Carney much time to throw and allowed a touchdown off a blocked punt for the third time in two games. Air Force also was uncharacteristically undisciplined, finishing with nine penalties for 70 yards and numerous miscues on pitches and passes.

The Falcons did score twice in the fourth quarter, including Darnell Stephens' second TD run, but couldn't get closer than 10 points.

"We're still looking for that complete game," Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry said. "We've played seven games now and we have not had a game yet where I feel we've played a complete game yet of four quarters of our best football."